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‘Wear your life jackets, please’
The data is clear: Over the past 13 years on Ontario’s lakes, 80% of fatalities were people not wearing a life jacket or PFD. The biggest cause of boating deaths is not collisions or even impaired boating – it’s accidentally falling overboard, Sgt. Dave Moffatt, Provincial Marine Coordinator for the OPP, told stakeholders. It can happen on any type of vessel, human-powered or motorized.
In 2023, the number of boating fatalities in Ontario was actually down compared to the three previous years, with 23 deaths. Sgt. Moffatt highlighted a few tragic incidents: A man went out fishing on his canoe but never returned. He was found deceased with his arm through his PFD, indicating he wasn’t wearing it. A father and his young daughter both fell off their PWC; she was wearing a PFD and survived, he was not and drowned. A man, described as a strong swimmer, fell off his SUP without a life jacket and died.
“Wear your life jackets, please,” said Sgt. Moffatt. “It can mean the difference between life and death.”
Currently, it is the law for vessels (including SUPs, kayaks, canoes) to have life jackets or PFDs for occupants, but not mandatory to wear them. That may soon change. This past summer, Ontario announced pending legislation to make it mandatory for children 12 and under to wear a life jacket or PFD on a boat underway. Parents or guardians could be subject to fines if they do not.
Transport Canada will also be launching public consultations on mandatory wearing of life jackets and PFDs in early spring 2024.
More changes from Transport Canada
Dawn Colquhoun, manager of recreational boating safety for Transport Canada in Ontario, outlined a number of other upcoming regulatory consultations and changes. Among them:
Transport Canada acknowledges it needs to speed up the lengthy VORR (Vessel Operation Restriction Regulation) process and provide municipalities with a quicker path to managing their waterways. Currently, it can take two years to apply for a speed limit change, for example. A public consultation process is now underway on modernizing and simplifying the application process. The deadline for submissions is Dec. 11.
The 10-year boat licence may be coming to an end. Transport Canada is proposing a five-year licence for a fee of $24. A boat licence is required for operation of all motorized vessels above 10 HP, as well as wind-powered vessels. The new licence requirements will go to public consultations next fall.
On the subject of decibels, or boat motor noise, Colquhoun expects new regulations to be in force by fall 2025. This marks six years since the start of the Decibel Coalition’s work to advocate for limits on boat motor noise be applied to boat manufacturers and operators. Rob Bosomworth, co-chair of the Decibel Coalition, said it remains to be seen what the limits will be and how they will be enforced, but is hopeful Transport Canada is listening to the group.
Float Homes not Vessels
Stakeholders also heard from the Float Homes not Vessels Coalition, which is advocating that the controversial shipping-container homes that have popped up in the Trent-Severn waterway and elsewhere in Ontario not be classified as vessels by Transport Canada. As a vessel, they are governed under the Canada Shipping Act 2001 and not subject to any ministries, agencies or municipality rules and regulations. That means they can avoid all building codes, permitting, standards and approvals, taxes and even environment controls.
The coalition’s Stephen Sprague said Transport Canada has recognized similar structures in B.C. as homes, and they are lobbying for the same designation in Ontario. “We’re not there yet,” he said, and appealed for stakeholders to participate in a public consultation process currently underway by Transport Canada. The deadline for comments is Dec. 11.
Watch the Stakeholder meeting video here
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